Where does “Nord-Irland” come from?
Nord-Irland (Norwegian Bokmål) comes from Norwegian Bokmål nord, from Danish nørd, from English nerd, from English nerts, from English nuts, from English nut, from Middle English nute, from Old English hnutu — to arise, begin.
Ancestry of “Nord-Irland”, step by step
Nord-Irland traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via Norwegian Bokmål nord
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Norwegian Bokmål | nord | north; north, a compass direction; a land area... |
| 2 | Danish | nørd | nerd; geek |
| 3 | English | nerd | A person who is intellectual but generally... |
| 4 | English | nerts | Crazy; nuts; Nuts! Expression of dismay |
| 5 | English | nuts | plural of nut; Testicles; An unbeatable hand; the... |
| 6 | English | nut | A hard-shelled seed; A piece of metal, usually... |
| 7 | Middle English | nute | — |
| 8 | Old English | hnutu | nut |
| 9 | Proto-West Germanic | hnut | nut |
| 10 | Proto-Germanic | hnuts | nut |
| 11 | Proto-Indo-European | knew- | to scrape; scratch; rub; to scratch; scrape; rub |
| 12 | Proto-Indo-European | ken- | to arise, begin |